Posts Tagged ‘Konami’

Origins Game Fair returns this Wednesday June 14th to Sunday June 18th at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Origins is the longest-running and largest convention for people who enjoy games. There is so much to do over the five days that I could go on for pages, but I am of course just going to focus on anime and Japanese related events and games.

The Anime Track is being ran by Wasabi Anime again this year. They will be running events from Thursday to Sunday. They will be showing Anime Music Videos ever day, a manga library, and a viewing room sponsored by Viz, Funimation, and AnimEigo. Though I will say last year the library was a big disappoint me quality and selection. Let’s hope for more this year. Panels for this year cover such topics as Voltron, Yu Yu Hakusho, Transformers, tea, a Cowboy Bebop listening party, Anime Name That Tune, and many more.

They will also be running sessions of various anime related games for free; Mangaka, Ryuutama, Golden Sky Stories, Maid RPG, and Tanto Coure. All the other games at the con will cost at least $2, most will cost even more.

For Collectable Games, both Konami and Pokémon running many sessions of their games. Demo games to learn Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokémon, tournaments of various styles and levels, and plenty of pick-up games. Also games and tournaments for Dice Masters, which had a Yu-Gi-Oh set.

For Role Playing Games there are a few that are of interest to this blog including some sessions of Kuro and sessions of Advanced Dimensional Green Ninja-Educational Preparatory Super-Elementary Fortress 555 (ADGNEPSEF555) where you play in an anime-themed cross-dimensional grade school. It is very weird.

There will be some Pokémon LARP sessions using DSes and a LARP for the ADGNEPSEF universe.

For Miniatures Games, you will have four chances to play a Starblazers game and learn Infinity a new manga inspired game. Heroclix will have some tournaments to play in, they also had a Yu-Gi-Oh expansion set.

If you are interested in board games, they have you covered there too. Cool Mini or Not will be running games and tournaments of Arcadia Quest and Masmorra Dungeons of Arcadia. Japanime Games will be doing learn to plays and tournaments of Tanto Cuore (various sets) and Heart of Crown. The games available to try are Pokemon Master Trainer, Resident Evil Deck Building Game, Hatsune Miku (a new co-op game), Cowboy Bebop: The Board Game, Era of the Ninja, Super Dungeon Explore, and more.

Plus do not forget all the dealers that will be there with many of the above games and others.

Origins is a great convention to go to, but it does take a bit of money to go and survive. But it is worth it.

Pittsburgh, well-known for its championship professional teams, welcomed two new champions this past weekend as hundreds of passionate fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG competed for the top prize at Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS) Pittsburgh. Hosted by Konami, this premier-level event featured many of the top Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG players and enthusiastic newcomers. Duelists met their peers and displayed the skills and strategies necessary to win prizes and make lifelong friends. YCS Pittsburgh crowned two new Champions, Aaron Furman and Dragon Duel top finisher Justus Long.

Participants of every age and ability displayed spirited Dueling in the early rounds of Swiss Format Dueling on Day One. On Sunday, Furman, from Linwood, NJ, learned that his Zoodiac Deck proved its worth as he triumphantly marched toward a Finals showdown. Starting with several rounds of Swiss, followed by more Single Elimination rounds, he squared off against Wen Tong Xiang, from Montreal, Quebec, using a Zoodiac Speedroid Deck in the final playoff.

In addition to bringing home the title of YCS Champion, Furman received a special set of prizes that included the new YCS prize card, an Ultra Rare Number 93: Utopia Kaiser, a YCS Championship Trophy, the new YCS Top Cut Game Mat, a PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, 32 World Qualifying Points*, and an invitation and paid travel to his 2017 World Championship Qualifier (WCQ) tournament!

*The number of World Qualifying Points is awarded based on the final standings. For example, if there are 32 WCQ invites, the Duelist who comes in 1st place will earn 32 points, the 2nd place Duelist will earn 31 points, and so on.

Additionally, there was a tremendous amount of excitement in the Dragon Duel tournament (an event for Duelists born in 2004 or later) where attendees witnessed an exciting series of Duels between Long, from Xenia, OH, using his Metalfoes Deck against Connor Perrotta, Lee Center, NY, in the finals. Long displayed great sportsmanship and a winning combination as he beat Perrotta to snare the title of Dragon Duel Champion. He picked up some great prizes too, including a Dragon Duel Championship Trophy, a Regional Deck Box, a Dragon Duel T-shirt, a 2017 Regional Game Mat, and an invitation to his 2017 Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s second largest city, Pittsburgh, prepares to host the upcoming Konami Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS) Pittsburgh on May 13-14. Duelists will experience epic head-to-head card battles against one another during this ultra-competitive weekend-long tournament with participants from across the United States and Eastern Canada.

Duelists will be competing for an exclusive prize card awarded to the weekend’s top finishers – Number 93: Utopia Kaiser. Different from the regular cards found in booster packs and other Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products, Number 93: Utopia Kaiser can only be obtained by finishing in the top three spots at a Main Event of a YCS, or by winning a special Public Events playoff tournament. This makes Number 93: Utopia Kaiser highly coveted by the mass of Duelists around the world that will participate in the high-level competitive YCS events during the course of the season.

Moreover, the top-ranked Duelists will win a YCS Top Cut Game Mat for this event featuring artwork of the new prize card.

For those eager to get things started, pre-registration for YCS Pittsburgh will run from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Friday, May 12 and registration will continue promptly at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, with Round One starting at 10:00 a.m. Upon registering, Duelists will receive five of the recently released Maximum Crisis booster packs for participating in KONAMI’s YCS Pittsburgh. Players will use their constructed Decks all the way to the final match. The top-ranked YCS finishers will earn invitations to participate in their 2017 World Championship Qualifier (WCQ), plus earn valuable World Qualifying Points, that may earn them a spot in the 2017 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship. Duelists can find the answers to many of their questions here: YCS Pittsburgh.

Accompanying YCS Pittsburgh’s Main Event, KONAMI will also be conducting Dragon Duels (for Duelists born in 2004 or later). The Dragon Duel tournaments on both Saturday and Sunday will be sealed using Battle Pack: Epic Dawn, where each Duelist is given ten sealed Battle Packs to make a new Deck. The top four finishers in the Dragon Duel events will receive a Dragon Duel Medal, a Regional Deck Box, a Dragon Duel T-shirt, and a 2017 Regional Game Mat. Top-ranked finishers will also earn an invitation to their 2017 Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier.

The two victors from the Saturday and Sunday tournaments will face off in a best 2-out-of-3 head-to-head matchup using their own pre-constructed Decks in the Advanced Format, to determine the weekend’s overall winner and a chance at the ultimate prize: to hoist the Dragon Duel Champion’s trophy and the coveted title of YCS Pittsburgh Dragon Duel Champion! In addition, the Dragon Duel Champion will also receive a Super Rare set of the Darklord YCS prize cards. Entry to the Dragon Duel tournaments is free to qualified players.

A full range of Public Events such as 2017 Regional Qualifiers, Ultimate Duelist Series Qualifiers, School Tournament Series, 3 vs. 3 Team Dueling, ATTACK OF THE GIANT CARD!!, Win-A-Mat, Sealed Starter Deck and Structure Deck, Duelist League, Yu-Gi-Oh! Day, and Generation Duel Tournaments will be held through the weekend.

Prizing Information for YCS Pittsburgh:

1st place – Ultra Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Prize Card: Number 93: Utopia Kaiser; Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Trophy; Paid travel and accommodations to the winner’s 2017 World Championship Qualifier; Invite to and VIP Status at the 2017 World Championship Qualifier tournament; PlayStation®4 Pro 1TB system; Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat; 30 Ultimate Duelist Series Points; World Qualifying Points*.

4th place – PlayStation®4 Pro 1TB system; Invite to the 2017 World Championship Qualifier tournament; Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat; 10 Ultimate Duelist Series Points; World Qualifying Points*.

5th–8th place – PlayStation®4 500GB system; Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat; Invite to the 2017 World Championship Qualifier tournament; 10 Ultimate Duelist Series Points; World Qualifying Points*.

9th– 16th place – 24 booster packs of Maximum Crisis; Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat; Invite to the 2017 World Championship Qualifier tournament; 10 Ultimate Duelist Series Points; World Qualifying Points*.

17th–32nd place – Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Top Cut Game Mat; Invite to the 2017 World Championship Qualifier tournament; 10 Ultimate Duelist Series Points; World Qualifying Points*.

*The number of World Qualifying Points for the Top Cut is awarded based on the total number of WCQ invites awarded at YCS Pittsburgh after final standings. For example, if there are 32 WCQ invites, the Duelist who comes in 1st place will earn 32 points, the 2nd place Duelist will earn 31 points, and so on, down to the 32nd place Duelist who will earn 1 point.

With summer just around the corner, Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Duelists are busy sharpening their game strategies and building new Decks in preparation for the tournament-filled season. Konami helps them get game-ready with two exciting new products: Maximum Crisis Special Edition, and Pendulum Evolution, both available at hobby and retail stores this month.

Building on May’s Maximum Crisis booster set release, Maximum Crisis Special Edition hits store shelves on June 9. Maximum Crisis Special Edition is your second chance at some of the best cards of the year, like Zoodiac Chakanine, Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, and Dragonic Diagram which cracked the competitive season wide open in May.. In addition, Duelists can load up on cards that boost Decks and themes from Fusion Enforcers, Raging Tempest, Invasion: Vengeance, The Dark Illusion, Shining Victories, and Wing Raiders. With Maximum Crisis Special Edition, players can benefit from all of what Maximum Crisis has to offer, and more! Each Special Edition includes three Maximum Crisis booster packs, one of two foil preview cards from this summer’s yet to be released Code of the Duelist booster set and one of two variant foil cards! This is a great way for Duelists to power-up a current Deck or build a whole new one! Each Maximum Crisis Special Edition is $9.99 MSRP.

On June 23, the magical Pendulum Evolution booster pack becomes available nationwide. A perfect follow-up to Maximum Crisis, Pendulum Evolution features powered-up Pendulums and mightier “Magician” monsters that take Pendulum Summoning into new territory, while a pair of super-strong Sorcerers help you unleash Supreme King Z-ARC, faster than ever before.. An all-foil set of Ultra Rare and Super Rare cards, Pendulum Evolution features several new cards such as Timestar Magician and Chronograph Sorcerer plus dozens of the most popular cards from the Pendulum Monster era of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V animated TV series. Each 5-card pack is $3.99 MSRP.

This May, Konami helps Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG players get Duel-ready with the release of two exciting new products: the Maximum Crisis booster set introduces a host of new themes and cards for players of all skill levels, and in Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians, familiar faces emerge from the past to join the heroes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V on a quest to reach their home dimension.

Duelists prepping to be in top game-form for summer tournaments and casual play can get a Sneak Peek at the Maximum Crisis booster set April 29 and/or 30 before it officially releases May 5. This all-new 100-card booster set is the climax of the 2016-2017 Dueling season, introducing three new themes as well as bold new cards for a wide variety of popular Decks like Performapal, Speedroid, Phantom Knights, Zoodiac, and more. Pendulum Summoning will undergo its final evolution in Maximum Crisis with a pair of Pendulum Monsters with Scales of 0 and 13, opening up the ability to Pendulum Summon monsters of any Level in any Deck! Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring grants powerful new negation effects; and the long-awaited True Dracos finally make their arrival. Dragonic Diagram is a tremendous new Field Spell that boosts the ATK and DEF of all “True Draco” and “True King” monsters, protects them from destruction, and even searches them from your Deck. Combined with the True Kings from Raging Tempest and The Dark Illusion, it’s a must-run for new strategies built with Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck. Maximum Crisis contains 100 cards: 48 Commons, 20 Rares, 14 Super Rares, 10 Ultra Rares, and 8 Secret Rares. MSRP: $3.99 per pack.

Closing out May, Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians will be on store shelves May 26. Jack Atlas, Kite Tenjo, and Alexis Rhodes make their return in Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians, armed with cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, as well as new cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, on their journey through the Synchro, Xyz and Fusion Dimensions. Competitive Duelists will find brand-new cards for popular ARC-V strategies like Performapals, Speedroids, Frightfurs and Raidraptors, powering up some fan-favorite strategies in modern Dueling. The Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians set has 45 cards: 22 commons, 10 Rares, 6 Super Rares and 7 Ultra Rares. MSRP: $1.99 per pack.

Duelists can participate in the ultimate battle between man-made monstrosities and the greatest predators nature has ever produced when Konami unleashes the Machine Reactor Structure Deck and Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck on April 14 for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.

The Machine Reactor Structure Deck uses the popular “Gadget” series of monsters, most recently seen in Movie Pack Gold Edition, while new cards like Ancient Gear Hunting Hound and Ancient Gear Howitzer from Raging Tempest shook the rust off “Ancient Gears.” The Machine Reactor Structure Deck takes both themes to new heights with Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, a 3000 ATK boss monster that powers up with help from Gadgets and Ancient Gears. Meanwhile two new search cards keep your Deck running like clockwork: Ancient Gear Wyvern and Ancient Gear Catapult.

Not to be outdone, the Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck provides the ultimate Dueling experience with powerful new Dinosaur-Types that devour their own for powerful effects. Souleating Oviraptor searches a player’s Deck when it hits the table, and helps Duelists make quick Special Summons. Feed them new support monsters like Petiteranodon to make even more Special Summons, or keep Dinos sated with Jurraegg Token and other cards, using the new Lost World Field Spell. Ultimate Conductor Tyranno can attack every opposing monster, shifting battle positions and burning an opponent for damage when it wipes the field.

Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck is also adept at Summoning multiple Dinosaurs of the same Level at the same time, and most of those monsters are Level 4, which makes this Deck a perfect fit for Xyz Summoning!

Each Structure Deck comes with a 41-card Main Deck and one Token Card for a total of 42 cards. MSRP: $9.99 per Deck.

Returning sponsor Konami is excited to share its 2017 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG product portfolio at the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) annual trade show March 13-17 at Bally’s Event Center in Las Vegas. KONAMI will showcase products scheduled to be released later this year in booth #206 and conduct two seminars during the show.

“Out of the gate, 2017 has been a hugely successful year and we are looking forward to continued growth. Our new Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME products, combined with our growing Organized Play programs and fan base, have set the stage for a great year ahead,” said Yumi Hoashi, Senior Vice President, Card Business for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “With a growing and loyal consumer base, we are excited to share our newest product release schedule with our hobby partners as we remain dedicated to developing products that bring excitement to both new players and competitive Duelists.”

KONAMI will host two seminars, one on March 14 at 11 a.m. and one on March 15 at 11 a.m. During the first seminar, the company will outline their Official Tournament Store (OTS) Program, with a focus on store benefits and Organized Play programs. The second seminar will focus on a brand new game mechanic, Link Summoning, being introduced to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG this summer. For more information on KONAMI’s extensive Organized Play programs, including opportunities for new players to learn how to play the game, go to http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/index.html.

Sure to draw in players wanting more of January’s Raging Tempest booster set, KONAMI launches Raging Tempest Special Edition on March 17. This Special Edition brings Zoodiacs, Shinobirds, and Windwitches back for an encore! Cards like Zoodiac Ratpier, That Grass Looks Greener, and Sea Monster of Theseus reshaped the tournament scene, and the Special Edition offers another chance to add them to your collection with three booster packs of Raging Tempest, one of two Super Rare Cards from the upcoming Maximum Crisis booster set, either Zoodiac Kataroost or Baobaboon, plus one of two variant Super Rare Cards, either Number 22: Zombiestein or Masked HERO Blast – all for less than what it would cost to buy three individual booster packs. MSRP: $9.99 per box.

Rounding out the month, players and retailers alike can expect great things from Duelist Saga when it releases on March 31 where secret histories and ancient powers are revealed! This special set of 100 cards, all using a new, different Ultra Rare technology, features cards from all five incarnations of Yu-Gi-Oh! The 40 new cards in Duelist Saga are a mix of cards from the manga series, the animated series, and cards inspired by some of the coolest monsters and concepts from each series! Bakura’s Diabound Kernel is made real, and the Sacred Beasts of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX animated TV series get new support! Cards used by Mai, Yuya, and Yusei all make appearances as well.

Duelist Saga also has 60 more cards that span the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s history, featuring memorable cards from the various series. Each box contains three mini-packs of five cards each, for a total of 15 cards per box: nine new cards and six previously available cards. MSRP: $14.99 per box.

KONAMI introduces Machine Reactor Structure Deck and Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck on April 14, just in time for the busy Easter shopping season. The Machine Reactor Structure Deck uses the popular “Gadget” series of monsters, most recently seen in Movie Pack Gold Edition, to power up gargantuan “Ancient Gear” monsters. The Dinosmasher’s Fury Structure Deck is adept at Summoning multiple Dinosaurs of the same Level at the same time, and most of those monsters are Level 4, which makes this Deck a perfect fit for Xyz Summoning! Each Structure Deck comes with a 40-card Main Deck and one Token Card for a total of 41 cards. MSRP: $9.99 per Deck.

For stores wanting to help get Duelists tournament ready, the Maximum Crisis booster set releases May 5. This all-new 100-card booster set is the climax of the 2016-2017 Dueling season, introducing three new themes as well as bold new cards for a wide variety of popular Decks like Performapal, Speedroid, Phantom Knights, Zoodiac, and more. Pendulum Summoning will undergo its final evolution in Maximum Crisis with a pair of Pendulum Monsters with Scales of 0 and 13, opening up the ability to Pendulum Summon monsters of any Level in any Deck! But that’s not the only type of Summoning that’s evolving. Following up on February’s Fusion Enforcers set, Maximum Crisis introduces a new Fusion Summoning Spell Card that lets players keep their Fusion Monster while giving back the monsters they just fused together! Maximum Crisis contains 100 cards: 48 Commons, 20 Rares, 14 Super Rares, 10 Ultra Rares, and 8 Secret Rares. MSRP: $3.99 per pack.

Additionally, Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians will be on store shelves May 26. Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians is a collection of cards used by heroes, Jack, Kite and Alexis, in their original incarnations from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX on their journey through the Synchro, Xyz and Fusion Dimensions. It also includes new cards that they use in Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V and brand-new cards for popular ARC-V strategies like Performapals, Speedroids, Frightfurs and Raidraptors that players won’t find anywhere else. The Duelist Pack: Dimensional Guardians set has 45 cards: 22 commons, 10 Rares, 6 Super Rares and 7 Ultra Rares. MSRP: $1.99 per pack.

Helping retailers and Duelists gear up for the summer tournament season, KONAMI introduces two new products in June. First, on June 9, players can maximize their Deck potential with Maximum Crisis Special Edition. Each box comes with three packs of Maximum Crisis, one of two variant foil cards, and one of two foil preview cards of non-foil cards from the upcoming Summer 2017 booster set. MSRP: $9.99 per box.

On June 23, the Pendulum Evolution Special Booster set is released to stores nationwide. This set features magicians with the might of dragons and sorcerers that defy the laws of nature. Players can also witness the magnificent and mystifying results of Pendulum Summoning’s final evolution! Pendulum Evolution features powerful new Pendulum Monsters that can either stand on their own or in the service of that dreaded dragon, the Dominator of Dimensions itself, Supreme King Z-ARC (from Maximum Crisis). This all-foil set includes a mix of Ultra Rare and Super Rare cards, features several new cards plus dozens of the most popular cards from the Pendulum Monster era of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V animated TV series. MSRP: $3.99 per pack.

Duelists of all experience and skill levels will want to learn about Link Monsters, the newest type of monster to join the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Starter Deck 2017*, releasing in July, can be played right out of the box, includes three Link Monsters, and teaches Duelists how to Link Summon – a vital skill in the new era of Dueling! MSRP: $9.99 per box.

Dueling moments frozen in time reach their melting point, as three new releases bring a spring thaw to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Konami brings you the latest and greatest with three hot new products this month: Star Pack – Battle Royal, Raging Tempest Special Edition and Duelist Saga.

Players can begin to warm up on March 10 starting with Star Pack – Battle Royal. Star Pack – Battle Royal contains some of the most popular cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V animated TV series, giving Duelists easy access to Fightfur Fusion, Yosenjus’ Secret Move, Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir, and more. Each pack contains three randomly distributed cards from a set of 50 cards, 49 of which are available as Commons and 1 Starfoil only card (all 49 Commons are also available as Starfoils). MSRP: $0.99 per pack.

On March 17, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG gets even hotter with Raging Tempest Special Edition. Building on its January release of the Raging Tempest booster set, the Special Edition brings Zoodiacs, Shinobirds, and Windwitches back for an encore! Cards like Zoodiac Ratpier, That Grass Looks Greener, and Sea Monster of Theseus reshaped the tournament scene, and the Special Edition offers another chance to add them to your collection with three booster packs of Raging Tempest, one of two Super Rare Cards from the upcoming Maximum Crisis booster set, either Zoodiac Kataroost or Baobaboon, plus one of two variant Super Rare Cards, either Number 22: Zombiestein or Masked HERO Blast – all for less than what it would cost to buy three individual booster packs. MSRP: $9.99 per box.

Secret histories and ancient powers are revealed on March 31 with Duelist Saga. This special set of 100 cards, all using a new, different Ultra Rare technology, features cards from all five incarnations of Yu-Gi-Oh! The 40 new cards in Duelist Saga are a mix of cards from the manga series, the animated series, and cards inspired by some of the coolest monsters and concepts from each series! Bakura’s Diabound Kernel is made real, and the Sacred Beasts of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX animated TV series get new support! Cards used by Mai, Yuya, and Yusei all make appearances as well.

Duelist Saga also has 60 more cards that span the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s history, featuring memorable cards from the various series. Each box contains three mini-packs of five cards each, for a total of 15 cards per box: nine new cards and six previously-available cards. MSRP: $14.99 per box.

Konami is thrilled to announce a change to earning invitations to the 2017 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship! In previous years, Duelists would earn invitations to the World Championship solely by their performance at their World Championship Qualifier (WCQ). For 2017, not only will top-performing Duelists continue to earn invitations to the World Championship at their WCQ, but Duelists that compete and do well at events throughout the course of the Dueling season can now receive “World Qualifying Points” to earn an invitation to the World Championship.

For the 2016-2017 Dueling season, players will receive World Qualifying Points if they earned a WCQ invite from a qualifying event, such as Regional Qualifiers, Dragon Duels, OTS Championships, Nationals in Latin America, and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series. Players that make the Top Cut at the WCQ will also earn World Qualifying Points. World Qualifying Points are awarded based on the total number of invites awarded at that event. For example, at a Regional Qualifier that awards 32 WCQ invites, the Duelist who comes in 1st place will earn 32 points, the 2nd place Duelist will earn 31 points, and so on, down to the 32nd place Duelist who will earn 1 point. World Qualifying Points will be given retroactively for any event that qualified Duelists for their 2017 WCQ. (These points are separate from any other points earned to qualify for other KONAMI Organized Play events, i.e. Ultimate Duelist Series points used to qualify Duelists for the UDS Invitational.)

For the 2017 North American WCQ, the Top 4 Duelists at the end of the playoff rounds will earn invitations to the World Championship. The remaining 3 North American Duelists who will earn invitations to the World Championship will be determined via the World Qualifying Points list. At the conclusion of the North American WCQ, the top 2 World Qualifying Points-earners from the United States and the top World Qualifying Points-earner from Canada who did not already finish in the Top 4 of the WCQ, will earn an invitation to the 2017 World Championship. For Latin America, the top World Qualifying Points-earner of the 2016-2017 Dueling season, along with the Top Duelist from the Central American WCQ and the Top Duelist from the South American WCQ, will earn an invitation to the World Championship.

Now, even more Duelists will need to believe in the ‘heart of the cards’ throughout the Dueling season for a chance to clash against Duelists from around the world with hopes of being crowned the next Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Champion!

New forces pierce the winter chill! Two new booster packs bring both new forces and new reinforcements for a flurry of monster themes in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, as Konami unleashes Raging Tempest and Fusion Enforcers, along with a trio of accessories inspired by the theatrical feature film, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions!

Enter the vortex February 10 with Raging Tempest. This 100-card booster set is anchored by the new Zoodiac monsters, a bestial incarnation of the Chinese zodiac and maybe the strongest Xyz Monster theme ever seen, ready to plow through the tournament scene the moment it’s released. Other big guns in Raging Tempest include Sea Monster of Theseus, the first-ever monster that’s both a Fusion Monster and a Tuner Monster, and Spell Card That Grass Looks Greener with unprecedented potential to get cards out of your Deck to where you can use them. Shinobirds mix Ritual Summoning and Spirit Monsters, the Crystrons return to swerve your Synchro Summons, and the SPYRAL and Subterror themes get shocking new abilities.

The comeback continues! Fusion Monsters made their mark on tournaments in 2016, and now they’re getting their own booster set with Fusion Enforcers. The new “Invoked” monster theme centers on Aleister the Invoker, who uses new Spells and Traps like Invocation and Omega Summon to Summon and re-Summon any of seven incredible new Fusion Monsters. After laying roots in Invasion: Vengeance, the Predaplants arrive en masse in Fusion Enforcers, with a terrifying new Deck filled with monster-eating Plants. And what happens when the fuzzy-friendly Fluffals say “no more”? Frightfur Kraken erupts from the Dueling depths! This fluff-filled monstrosity can attack twice per turn or drag a monster straight to the Graveyard, and you can string together your Fusion Summons to use it again and again.

Three new accessory products with art from the theatrical feature film, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions release this Friday, February 17. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions Card Sleeves are tournament legal, premium quality high-gloss sleeves with iconic artwork from the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! film. MSRP: $3.99 per 50-sleeve pack.

Additionally, Duelists on the go can slip their Deck into a new Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions Card Case. Large enough to hold a Main Deck, Extra Deck and Side Deck, it’s made of sturdy material, includes a card divider, and comes with a Velcro closure. MSRP: $4.99 per case.

Still not enough storage? Duelists can keep and display cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions 9-Pocket Duelist Portfolio also featuring movie art. A secure side-loading 10-page portfolio, each page has 9 pockets per page, holding up to 180 cards. MSRP: $9.99 per portfolio.